My Lovely Valentine
by Aubrey Simone
Summary: He had given her a holiday to remember, and now she would do the same for him. Written for the Valentine's Day DDN on Dokuga; Companion piece to The Best Gift Ever. COMPLETE
1. Spider Lily

**01. Spider Lily  
><strong>_(all prompts courtesy of the lovely SynesterStar)_

If there was a reason for there to be a pair of spider lilies on his wife's pillow, Yamaguchi Sesshomaru didn't quite know what that reason was.

Reaching out, he pressed a palm against the bed sheets. _Cool,_ he mused, and a cursory glance at the clock read nearly 9 am. Kagome, Sesshomaru knew, did not get up any earlier than ten during the weekend, so it was obvious that whatever she had in mind, it was important. _Very _important.

He sat up, and the lily rolled from her pillow with the movement, and that was when he realized what his clever little wife had done; twisted together so tightly that there was no beginning and no end, the petals of one of the flowers had been joined with the leaves.

He smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>The spider lily represents the dead, or a pair of doomed lovers, never to meet again (the leaves and the petals of the spider lily never touch). And since I couldn't really use that meaning, I added my own little symbolic twist**. **Literally. *grin* Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!**  
><strong>

**Word Count: **133


	2. Forever Yours

**02. Forever Yours**

It was strange, Sesshomaru decided, to be going through his morning routine without Kagome in the room. He was used to the little noises she made as she got ready; the gentle pressure of her fingers as she leaned over him to reach the brush on the other side of the sink; the loving way she snapped the waistband of the sweats he liked to wear on the weekends.

Padding out of the room—and grudgingly snapping his _own_ waistband—Sesshomaru rounded into the kitchen, admittedly disappointed when Kagome wasn't humming over the stove. His breakfast, he saw, was already made, and he sat at the table, pulling his plate in front of him.

A sheet of paper, white against the dark wood of the tabletop, caught his attention, and he instantly reached for it.

_Forever yours,  
>I'll always be<br>Forever yours_

His heart thudded in his chest.

* * *

><p><strong>Word Count: <strong>148


	3. Irresistible

**03. Irresistible**

Her next note was taped to the counter by the sink, and setting his dishes into the stainless steel bowl, Sesshomaru reached over to free it, folding the tape down.

_Robert Frost said it best: Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired. _

_Some people wait until Valentine's Day to express that desire to be desired, but today is the 13th…and I couldn't wait, not now, not ever. _

That was all it said, and with an interested grunt, Sesshomaru wondered what else his wife had in store for him today.

He found that he couldn't wait to find out.

* * *

><p><strong>Word Count: <strong>100


	4. Obsession

**04. Obsession**

She was still in the house.

The realization rushed from his brain to his toes in the instant he turned away from the kitchen sink and caught a glimpse of a small, dainty ankle darting around the corner and into the living room, and he was halfway across the kitchen before logic caught up with instinct.

He couldn't chase her down. Chasing her down would mean putting an end to this intriguing little game she was playing, and he didn't want that.

No, that was out of the question.

So, shoving his hands into the pockets of his sweats, Sesshomaru strolled leisurely out of the kitchen, giving his little wife plenty of time to plant her next note.

And as he entered the room just as she slipped out of it, he silently confessed that he had just found his new obsession.

**Author's Note: **Ha! He's having fun!

**Word Count: **142


	5. Every Breath You Take

**05. Every Breath You Take**

He sank onto the couch with a sigh and reached for the remote control, and smiled when the rasp of paper rustled against his palm. Casually, as though the curiosity roiling in his gut was not as urgent as it was, he set the remote aside without turning on the television, attention tuned irrevocably to the small, white square held between his fingers.

_I thought that five years would dampen this, _the note read, the _this_ not specified but obvious all the same. _I thought that five years would reveal things I did not recognize before. _

_But then…_ And here, her characters wavered, as though the emotion shook her hand, and Sesshomaru felt the same emotion tremble in his chest.

_Then every breath you take matches mine, and I know that this will never, ever end. _

And Sesshomaru quietly, gently, refolded the note, slipping it into his pocket with the others. Eyes closed, he simply breathed, and knew that his wife was doing the same.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Alright, well there's the next chapter! I couldn't finish this last night, but I'll post the rest of it today, over the next few hours.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

**Word Count: **165


	6. Mad Love

**06. Mad Love**

The moment soon passed, though its meaning lingered, soft and feather-light against Sesshomaru's heart. Contemplative, he tilted his head back against the couch and stared at the ceiling.

Years ago—nearly ten, if he remembered correctly—he had decided that the vibrant, loving girl with the heart of gold would be his. She hadn't known it yet, but even then her kindness and her compassion had snared his attention and drew him to her.

And now? Now, there were times when he looked at her and couldn't help but marvel at the flood of affection that washed over him. More than once, he had wondered if he had gone crazy.

He had even gone so far as to teasingly assure her that he loved her because he had lost his mind and couldn't seem to find it.

_"'Love that is not madness is not love',"_ she had responded, hands busily pressing out the figures of gingerbread men from her delicious cookie dough. He'd hummed and wrapped an arm about her waist.

_"Then I'll be mad for you, koi."_

* * *

><p><strong>Word Count: <strong>178


	7. Quixotic

**07. Quixotic**

Television forgotten—and never truly noted in the first place—Sesshomaru stood, paper crinkling in his pocket.

He saw her next note instantly, stuck carefully in the space between the wall and the doorjamb of the living room. Noting absently that she had led him in a circle and that he would soon be back where he started, Sesshomaru plucked the note free and leaned against the wall to read it.

_I always told myself that I would never fall to silly, childish displays…but I've always told myself a lot of things, and so far, you are the only person—the only man to make me forget my own promises. And, husband of mine, I find that I don't care._

_How terribly quixotic. _

Her dry humor—something that she had no doubt picked up from him, made him smile, and he tucked the note into his pocket with the others.

Stepping into the hall, he looked up to see five sheets of paper, unfolded, taped to the wall. They were staggered, and as he followed their line, he noticed light filtering from beneath the crack of their bedroom door.

Seconds ticked by, and then Sesshomaru reached for the next note.

* * *

><p><strong>Word Count: <strong>200


	8. Sad World

**08. Sad World**

Kagome had never been so nervous in her life.

Perched on the edge of the bed, the kindergarten teacher resisted the urge to nibble at her lips. It was pointless to worry, she knew, because Sesshomaru wouldn't call her silly for her over-the-top declarations of love. They were, after all, true.

A smile stole over her face.

Someone had once quoted that "the saddest thing in the world is loving someone who used to love you", and Kagome couldn't help but be happy—insanely so—that the person she loved, loved her just as much.

_Sad world, my big toe!_

* * *

><p><strong>Word Count: <strong>100


	9. Saddest Story Never Told

**09. Saddest Story Never Told**

_There used to be a woman who came to the shrine every day. She climbed the stairs alone, said her prayers alone, and left alone, and in all the years I saw her do the same thing, she only told me one thing: that the saddest story never told is the one that no one knows. _

_For a long time, I pondered that, and the day we married, I decided that ours would be the happiest story never told. _

_Happy, because there is a story to tell._

_Happy, because I am yours. _

_Happy, because you are mine. _

_Happy, because it will always be that way._

* * *

><p><strong>Word Count: <strong>105


	10. Jealousy

**10. Jealousy**

He used to be jealous of his younger brother. As owner of one of the most well-heralded restaurants in the world, Inuyasha's success had long haunted him, had long made his consciousness reel with the fact that he—the elder brother—was being bested by his younger sibling.

But there were things, Sesshomaru decided as he pocketed another note and stepped to reach the next one, that he had gained despite his middling paycheck and mediocre life.

A wife, a home, love…

Sesshomaru was jealous no longer, envious no longer.

And he was quickly becoming eager to see his wife.

* * *

><p><strong>Word Count: <strong>100


	11. More Like Her

**11. More Like Her**

Her next note was folded under, so that the bottom of the page created a pouch. It was slightly heavy, and he considered it thoughtfully before reading the nervously trembly characters above the pouch.

_I always wanted to be more like her—like Sango. _

_More sure of myself, more confident in who I am and who I want to be. _

_And you, Sesshomaru, have made me that way. _

_I feel beautiful when I'm near you, desirable, loved. You've made me realize that there are things that I don't need—like to be a copy of anyone else. I am my own person, but…there is one thing I have in common with Sango. _

_Look inside._

Curious—and with some part of him frighteningly hopeful—Sesshomaru pried the folds apart and dumped its contents into his palm.

A pregnancy test.

A _positive _pregnancy test.

He bypassed the next note altogether.

* * *

><p><strong>Word Count: <strong>148


	12. Strength in Release

**12. Strength in Release**

Herman Hesse said that "Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go," and as Sesshomaru tugged his wife up from where she sat and crushed her to his chest, he marveled at the wisdom of those words.

He had let go of so much—an abandoned dream or two, after all, seemed like nothing in the face of providing for himself and his wife—and now…Now, he would have what he truly wanted; a family of his own.

Soft hands touched his cheeks, and Sesshomaru pulled himself out of his thoughts, realizing only now that he had crouched on the floor and pressed his face to the still-flat belly of his lovely wife. He looked up.

There was love in her eyes, and in that moment, Sesshomaru couldn't wish for more.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>And done! Whew! Thanks for reading this little companion piece, and I hope you enjoyed the sweetness of Valentine's Day, whether you had someone to spend the day with or not! There is, after all, plenty of reason to love yourself even if you've no significant other!

**Word Count: **138


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